My Cultivation Starting from Archery

"Okay."

Cao Fan expressed his concern, "The only uncertainty is whether they will follow through, as it effectively asks them to cover our break out with their lives."

"Yu Song comes from Xuanwu Camp; he won't disobey orders," said Chen Sansi.

Sha Wenlong said, "Of course, to be on the safe side, we can prepare within the city first, and it won't be too late to leave after there's activity outside the city."

Midnight.

Dark clouds hovered oppressively over the city as if ready to crush it.

The surviving soldiers within the city quietly completed their preparations, ready to break out at any moment.

It had been over five months!

Since arriving in Ming State, almost half a year had inadvertently passed.

During this time, having lived and fought alongside these soldiers, Cao Fan had gradually grown fond of them, a feeling he had never experienced while in the Capital City or the Imperial Palace.

"I can truly consider myself a man who has led troops and fought battles now," he said feelingly.

He reminisced, "General Sha, speaking of tonight's breakout, we have at most a thousand people left. Will the losses be too great? Wouldn't it be better to hold out a bit longer?"

"Young Master, you should know that the city has run out of food and supplies, even the warhorses have been nearly all slaughtered. If we drag this out, they are destined to die anyway. If they grow too hungry, there might even be a mutiny. I've heard some are already restless...," Sha Wenlong paused, then continued, "Their lives are not as valuable as the Young Master's life. Not to mention ten thousand people, even twenty thousand, or fifty thousand, as long as the Young Master can make it out alive, it would be worth it!"

"Report—"

In the midst of the discussion,

a severely wounded scout returned on a horse and collapsed to the ground, mustering his strength to report: "Outside the city, the battle has begun."

"How is the fight progressing?" Sha Wenlong pressed, "Did they attack the enemy camp with all their might as ordered?"

"The sky is ablaze with fire, and the momentum is staggering!" the scout replied.

"Good! That means they are obediently following orders." Sha Wenlong raised his broadsword high and shouted, "Brothers, follow me out of the city to break through. Tonight, we escape to freedom!"

"Charge—"

The gates of Yangchun Prefecture swung wide open.

Nine thousand soldiers swarmed out, leaving a thousand men behind to cover their retreat.

Initially,

everything went smoothly.

Until they reached forty li outside the city, when suddenly, from all directions, dense ambush troops appeared.

"Don't panic!"

Sha Wenlong anticipated this: "Hold on! They will soon turn back to deal with Yu Song's remnants. Their forces will quickly dwindle!"

However,

the situation quickly spiraled out of control.

Instead of decreasing, the number of enemy troops encircling them grew even more numerous.

"How could this be!"

Sha Wenlong was momentarily stunned: "They have over three thousand troops, and it was a surprise attack. They should have dispersed ten thousand soldiers to encircle them! Could they have fled?!"

"Sha Wenlong, meet your end—"

In the chaos, the enemy's Profound Image Realm General, Xiang Tian, led an elite squad charging towards them.

"We can't break out, retreat, retreat—"

Sha Wenlong had no intention of lingering in battle, immediately leading his soldiers back the way they came: "Young Master, stay close to me!"

But while it was easy to leave the city, returning was difficult.

After a night of fierce battle,

fortunately, the thousand men left behind allowed them not to be completely wiped out. They managed to return to the city by dawn, but the losses were staggeringly heavy: out of ten thousand men, only three thousand remained!

"Ah!!!"

In his rage, Sha Wenlong roared and nearly killed the scout who had brought the news with a slash of his sword: "Idiot, didn't you say you saw with your own eyes that they were fighting to the south, and the enemy forces were being defeated?"

"General, it's true, I swear, I saw it with my own eyes!" the scout said tearfully.

"I also don't know why they retreated so quickly."

"Shh—"

Finally,

the Hai Dongqing that had been sent out returned.

"Idiot—"

Sha Wenlong's hands trembled as he held the report: "Disobedience! That Chen, how dare he disobey! The attack was a feint; their forces are moving past Yingzui Mountain towards the east, preparing to cross the Hongze River for the third time!"

Triple crossing!

"I knew it..."

Cao Fan wasn't too surprised: "Chen Sansi would never be willing to risk his life for us."

"He's not even an Assistant General! I had even assigned an Assistant General to him before I sent him out!"

Fury uncontainable, Sha Wenlong exclaimed: "How dare Yu Song disobey orders, is he tired of living? I will kill him, and after we return, I will hang his head on the gates of Liangzhou City for all to see!" Explore more at My Virtual Library Empire

We could have held out a while longer.

But now only three thousand men remained.

The fall of our city is a matter of time!

"What are they doing crossing three times, heading south?"

Cao Fan frowned: "Trying to flee?"

"They can't run, in their dreams!"

Sha Wenlong said, "There are still troops in Mei Mountain, and a large army is pursuing from the flank,"

...

Meanwhile, in the rebel army's camp.

"Drive—"

Dong Anqin spurred his horse furiously forward, followed by five thousand elite troops.

The fools of Yangchun Prefecture were basically taken care of; it wouldn't be long before the city fell and their people perished. His primary goal was to personally twist off Chen Sansi's head to relieve the hatred in his heart.

Twice he had been made a fool!

The remnants of the Reserve Camp, none higher than the Meridian Passage Realm, wouldn't pose any threat with him personally in charge.

"Brothers, whoever chops off Chen Sansi's head will be rewarded with gold, and I will personally ensure his resources to reach the Meridian Passage!"

"Attack—"

"Hush!"

"You, what are you doing?"

Dong An looked at his subordinates, who should have been engaged in battle with the remnants of the Reserve Camp at this time, but were idly standing around. His heart sank: "What are you doing here, where are the people?"

"Sir, there's... no one,"

The soldiers stammered in reply.

"No one? Nonsense, there was such a commotion earlier, was it... a feint? If they aren't here to attack Yangchun Prefecture, where else could they be going, could it be..."